Ad-supported U.S. radio listenership held its own in the fourth quarter of 2024. That’s the news according to The Record, a quarterly report card on how U.S. consumers spend their listening time, compiled by Nielsen and Edison Research.
Overall, “audio accounted for nearly 20% of American’s daily media time in the fourth quarter of 2024,” according to The Record. This translates into “3 hours and 54 minutes of daily listening across both ad-supported and ad-free platforms like radio, podcasts, streaming music services and satellite radio.”
Radio listenership
Now for the numbers that matter to broadcasters: “During the fourth quarter of 2024 (October–December), listeners spent 67% of their daily time with ad-supported audio with radio, 18% with podcasts, 12% with streaming audio services and 3% with satellite radio,” the report said. “Those figures are nearly identical to the previous quarter, with only streaming audio increasing by just 1 percent. This speaks to the consistent demand for daily audio in the American media diet.”
As one might expect, the age of the listening audience affects how much they listen to ad-supported content. The Record said that radio accounts for 47% of daily ad-supported audio time among those aged 18–34. That climbs all the way to 74% among those aged 35 and older.
Conversely, podcasts are inverse. 13% of those 35 and older consume podcasts, compared with 32% among those 18–34, according to the report.
What were we listening to?
So what did Americans listen to in the fourth quarter of 2024? News and sports. In fact, The Record indicated that both formats saw increased audience levels. The study attributed this to the election cycle intertwined with the MLB postseason and the height of the NFL’s regular season.
The holiday season also affected listener preferences. There was a “significant increase” in listening to the Adult Contemporary format when many stations flipped to “all-Christmas” music formats. “Between third- and fourth-quarter 2024, the AC format saw a 9% gain in audience share among adults 18 and older and a 17% increase among those 18–34,” the report said.
Q4 2024 breakdown in U.S. radio listenership by format
The following data from The Record Q4 2024 report reflects the 18 years-and-older share of both over-the-air radio and streaming listenership, followed by the share of just station streaming.
The number one format was news/talk. This format was also tops among U.S. listeners aged 35 and older.
The number two format in the 18+ category was AC. It was also greatest among listeners 18–34 and 25–54.
Here is how the rest of the formats ranked, using the combined OTA and streaming data category to rank them:
| Format | 18+ (%) | Streaming (%) |
|---|---|---|
| News/Talk | 11.3% | 23.4% |
| News/Talk (35+) | 12.7% | 25.8% |
| Adult Contemporary | 8.1% | 8.9% |
| Adult Contemporary (18-34) | 9.8% | 17.9% |
| Adult Contemporary (25-54) | 8.1% | 9.6% |
| Country | 5.7% | 3.5% |
| Classic Hits | 5.6% | 3.4% |
| Classic Rock | 5.5% | 5.1% |
| Urban Adult Contemporary | R&B | 5.5% | 5.0% |
| All Sports | 5.2% | 10.3% |
| Pop Contemporary Hit Radio | 4.4% | 4.5% |
| Hot Adult Contemporary | 3.8% | 3.4% |
| Contemporary Christian | 2.9% | 1.1% |
| Mexican Regional | 2.8% | 1.0% |
| Urban Contemporary | Hip-Hop/R&B | 2.7% | 2.5% |
| Adult Hits | 2.7% | 1.4% |
| Spanish Contemporary | 2.7% | 1.3% |
| Alternative | 2.5% | 3.6% |
